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Wistness
Wistness is a developed, but rural domain in the south east of Amusa. Weather Settled directly in the corner of Quelmar where the Earth and Fire elemental planes meet, Wistness (and most of Amusa) tend to have cool, temperate weather and an autumnal climate for three out of the four years in a seasonal cycle. This fact, combined with the warm and damp temperature of the soil near the sea makes Wistness, and its neighbor Cauldomo, ideal for growing autumnal crops such as corn, gourds, beans, onions, and lettuce, but especially for autumnal fruits and berries such as apples and blackberries. These foods are Wistness' primary export and support the majority of their economy. Southern Wistness is well-known for the heavy, dense fog that forms there due in part to the climate and in part to the sea crashing against the large cliffs along the southern shore. There is an unusually high number of shipwrecks which occur off the southernmost coastline which many accredit to these sudden, dense fogs and tall cliffs. However, many locals claim that the waters there have been cursed by Nerull himself although the reason why has been lost to history. Local History The Teleportation Circle During the Holy War and subsequent Realm War, Wistness and many of its neighbors (notably aside from Cauldomo) outlawed and outright hunted Dragonborn, Lizardfolk, and other such reptilian species. During the war, this was often done to raise troop morale while fighting the giant beasts of legend, but after the war, it was instead an act of revenge against Dragonkind for destroying much of their land and many of their communities. Residents despised them as symbols of the opposition in the war and they were often driven out of towns and communities. Therefore, to escape persecution from the rest of the continent, the Dragonborn and other Lizardfolk formed a domain in the West called Dolina. However, getting to Dolina was not a simple task for Dragonborn in the East and if caught unprepared, refugee Dragonborn would often be at the mercy of strangers during their trek to Dolina. Initially started by a small town in central Amusa, the Teleportation Circle was a solution to this problem. At first, the Circle was simply a pool of money put together by locals in order to pay a magic user to teleport Dragonborn from the East to Dolina. However, as the war raged on, finding the money and a willing magic user became more and more difficult. This resulted in the locals resorting to smuggling Dragonborn across borders and eventually into Dolina, so they set up a series of stops, called "Circles", across the continent where they would be safe on their journey. The region that is now Wistness was rife with these safe havens and many small towns and cities still have the underground infrastructure such as caves and tunnels where Dragonborn were held and transported. While not always successful, The Circles in Wistness carried record numbers through their doors due to Wistness' large coastline. Once off the mainland, the dragon kind were more or less safe, save a shipwreck or two along the southern tip. The Burning Blight After the Holy War and Realm War, hatred towards lizard kind continued, but began to die off as generations passed and wounds were healed by time and distance. However, one group kept this hatred very much alive. Through the years and generations, they secretly gained information on The Circles in Wistness and Cauldomo regions and began to plot their revenge. Eventually, about two hundred years after the end of the Realm War they simultaneously struck over twenty towns between the two regions that had participated in The Teleportation Circle burning crops, homes, farmsteads, and more with their deadly fire magic. In the wake of destruction, many towns turned against magic as a whole and became distrusting of any all magic users. Many banned the use of magic in their communities and some went so far as to chase magic users out of their towns. Others had more leveled responses, and a few even embraced the use of magic as a means of defense. No matter the reaction, however, the event left its mark on the Wistness area. Local Customs The Harvest Festival Due to the importance of the harvest to the Wistness economy and livelihood, the region has a domain-wide harvest celebration at the end of the third year of every autumn cycle in conjunction with the state of Cauldomo. During this festival, residents compete in array of competitions, such as the largest vegetable, gourd carving, cook-offs, and more. The most popular of these events completes the festival and is in honor of The Gourd Guard, as they have become lovingly called over the centuries. During this event, each municipality of Cauldomo and Wistness is allowed to submit one trebuchet of their creation and five gourds. The goal of the event is to catapult the gourds towards a distant target. Two awards are given out at the end of the event: one for catapulting the gourds the farthest and one for most accurately hitting the target. As Wistness and Cauldomo alike have fairly large populations, it is ruled that only one entrant from each town may participate in each event (aside from the The Gourd Guard, which is one team per municipality). How the town decides who gets to compete is up to them. Thus, it is common in the months leading up to the domain-wide Harvest Festival for towns to host local competitions in order to determine who is most qualified to represent them. These smaller festivals often include variant rules to the state competitions, or include events that don't exist at the domain-wide level at all. Thermal Heating Due to its placement near the Fire and Earth elemental border, the ground around the southern part of Amusa is quite warm. Therefore, it is common in Wistness, as well as other states in Amusa, to have thermal heating in homes and buildings. The idea is said to have been developed by a Dragonborn who dug secret tunnels for the Teleportation Circle and noticed that the air in the tunnels was always significantly warmer than the air above. However, there is no record of their invention and the story lives on as legend. The thermal heating provided by the warm earth also contributes to a great number of natural spas to form in Amusa which are a popular attraction for visitors. Notable Towns/Cities Ambleside * Noted as a great pumpkin farming town, this community adds pumpkin pie eating contests to their annual Harvest Festival.